The mother of a baby murdered by Lucy Letby and an “inseparable” university friend of the child serial killer are among those to appear in a new Netflix documentary about the case.
Letby, 36, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder a further seven following two jury trials beginning in 2023.
As The i Paper’s Northern Correspondent, I covered both Letby’s trials and the subsequent public inquiry which is due to report later this year.
High court judges have twice rejected applications to overturn her convictions.Campaigners who believe Letby to be innocent have continued to support her and a new application is currently being considered by the independent watchdog, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed it would not be pursuing any further charges against Letby, despite receiving a file of evidence from Cheshire Police who wanted her to face further allegations of murder and attempted murder.
This is what the new evidence and claims made in the Netflix documentary tell us.
Mother of murdered baby speaks for first time
The mother of a baby murdered by Lucy Letby has slammed MP David Davis as “disgusting” for his involvement in the campaign to free the child serial killer.
The parent, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has spoken publicly for the first time in The Investigation of Lucy Letby, released today on Netflix.
Her child is referred to as ‘Baby Zoe’ and her words are voiced by a digitally-generated image.
Zoe’s mother tells the documentary that she felt “so angry and so sad and so confused” following the death of her daughter at the Countess of Chester hospital in 2015.
Letby was arrested at her parents home (Photo: Netflix)Former Brexit Secretary Davis is among a number of high-profile figures to have publicly questioned Letby’s convictions for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder a further seven.
At a press conference organised by Letby’s defence barrister Mark McDonald last year, Davis introduced expert witness Dr Shoo Lee, part of an international panel of paediatric specialists and neonatologists reviewing the medical evidence used to convict the nurse, as “the star of the show”.
Reacting to this footage, Zoe’s mother says: “This is not a show, there is no star. This is nothing to smile about. The audacity from a politician to introduce someone like this. It is disgusting.”
Consultant asks ‘did we get the wrong person?’
Dr John Gibbs, who worked as a consultant at the Countess of Chester, appears in the documentary to describe the unusual pattern of baby deaths and collapses which eventually led to the police investigation.
Reflecting on the campaign which has emerged in support of Letby following her conviction, Gibbs admits he has been the victim of abuse.“I’ve been accused online of killing babies which is shocking,” he said.
Senior doctors – including Dr Ravi Jayaram and Dr Stephen Brearey – who also raised concerns about what was happening on the neonatal ward, have consistently supported Letby’s conviction.
A handwritten note which made up part of the evidence used to convict Letby (Photo: Netflix)But speaking in the documentary, Gibbs is less certain.
“I live with two guilts – guilt that we let the babies down and tiny, tiny, tiny, guilt, did we get the wrong person [laughs] just in case it was a miscarriage of justice,” he says.
“I don’t think there was a miscarriage of justice but you worry that no one actually saw her do it.”
Letby’s tears and cuddles for cats during arrests
Letby was arrested three times during Cheshire Police’s investigation into the baby deaths, which lasted several years.
The Netflix documentary includes never-before-seen footage of Letby’s arrests – first at her home in Chester and then at the home of her parents, Susan and John Letby, after she had been bailed.
In footage of the arrests, Letby appears in genuine shock, unable to say anything before she bursts into tears.
She is also seen asking to hug, kiss and say goodbye to her beloved cats Tigger and Smudge.
When being removed from her parents’ address, her mother, Susan, can be heard in distress, to which Letby replies: “Don’t look mum, just go in.”
Letby’s friend in ‘complete disbelief’
The documentary also hears from a woman who says she was close friends with Letby starting in her university days. The woman – identified as Maisie – says after just four days the pair were “inseparable”.
She tells the documentary that when they both started as student nurses at the Countess of Chester, other nurses were “quite clique-y”. She never understood why Letby applied for a job there afterwards, Maisie says.
She also reveals letters written to her by Letby from her prison cell.
A still of a message sent by Letby following a shift at the Countess of Chester hospital (Photo: Netflix)In one, Letby says: “There are no words to describe my situation, but knowing that I have your friendship regardless is so important and special to me.”
She adds: “I miss Tigger and Smudge so much. It’s heartbreaking that they cannot understand why I’m no longer there. They must think I’m a terrible mummy. Mum and dad are taking good care of them, though and no doubt spoiling them. Trying to do all I can to get through this. I will not give up.”
More questions left to answer about killer’s convictions
Dr Dewi Evans, the retired consultant who was the central witness for the prosecution during Letby’s trial, appears in the documentary and says that he has no doubt in Letby’s convictions.
Stating that the evidence has been looked at in detail by Court of Appeal judges, he says: “That should be the end of it as far as I’m concerned.”
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However, Dr Shoo Lee, who wrote a paper on air embolism, one of the methods Evans said had been used to attack babies at the Countess of Chester, was later contacted by Letby’s defence team.
He claims to have examined the evidence used to convict Letby and said he does not believe the babies involved were deliberately harmed.
“If there is no murders, there is no murderer, so why is Lucy Letby in jail?” he asks in the documentary.
In response, Dr Evans says: “I don’t agree with Dr Lee; he’s not produced any new evidence, all he’s done is introduced new opinion.”
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